The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon
Alley!

The Wizarding World of Harry
Potter - Hogsmeade opened at Universal's Islands of
Adventure theme park in 2010.
My family and I made the
journey a few months later. Visiting the Wizarding World was
incredible! I felt as if the Harry Potter movies and books
had sprung to life, and so, when Universal opened a second
Wizarding World in 2014 (Wizarding World - Diagon Alley) in
its adjacent theme park (Universal Studios Florida), I
immediately added it to my bucket list.

Planning our trip

My mom and I decided to visit just before Christmas. I had
heard that Universal doesn't do much decorating in the
Wizarding Worlds for the holidays, but I wanted to see
whatever was there for myself. I picked what I hoped would
be the least crowded days in December for our visit,
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the week after the week
after Thanksgiving, December 8-10, 2015. Since this was
considered low season, rock-bottom rates were available at
Universal's onsite hotels. I chose the Cabana Bay Beach
Resort.

We dropped
off our luggage and freshened up in our small, but cute and
immaculate, standard room, and then we headed to the
resort's bus stop for a complimentary ride to the parks.

The Wizarding World - Diagon Alley

About two hours after our arrival in Orlando, my mom and I
walked through the gates of Universal Studios Florida,
heading to The Wizarding World - Diagon Alley. Somehow, we
neglected to get a park map at the entry turnstile but,
after a little wandering, we found "Kings Cross Station." It
wasn't hard to spot the nearby hidden entrance to Diagon
Alley because more-experienced park guests were
intermittently filing through it. Ducking around a few
walls, we found the parted bricks (complete with a
brick-moving sound effect) that framed Diagon Alley.

Entrance
to Diagon Alley

Our initial view was magnificent, with Gringotts bank at the end
of the alley, a dragon perched atop it.

Gringotts
Bank in Diagon Alley

It wasn't long
before the dragon began to growl, then he let out a loud
roar and breathed out real fire. Awesome! (The dragon
breathes fire about every fifteen minutes. He growls a few
seconds before the flames erupt, giving people a chance to
look up or aim their cameras.)

Fire-breathing
dragon in Diagon Alley

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Mom and I walked up the alley, heading toward Gringotts. The
wait time at the only ride in Diagon Alley, Harry Potter and
the Escape from Gringotts, turned out to be a very-magical
15 minutes! Mom and I joined the queue, which wound through
the impressive, but much smaller than I'd imagined, lobby of Gringotts bank, where animatronic goblins were at work. The
goblins occasionally looked up from their work and appeared
to stare us down.

In the next area, our photo was taken (to sell to us after
the ride at a minimum price of nearly $20). Then we headed down
a corridor lined with doors. Very rarely, goblins could be
seen in silhouette through the frosted glass. There were
also goblin
portraits hanging on the walls, but disappointingly, unlike many of the portraits in
the Wizarding World, the images on these portraits did not
move.

Next, we experienced a preshow that seemed to use the
same technology that makes Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and
Hermione appear in 3D on the live sets in the Harry Potter and the
Forbidden Journey queue. Here, the effect
made the actors appear merely in 2D. This seems strange
considering that this queue area was built years after that
of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I would think
that the technology would be as good if not better, but the
final effect here was decidedly less realistic.

After a fun bouncy ride in a Gringotts lift (elevator), we
headed up a winding staircase to the loading platform. I
excitedly boarded a mine car (ride vehicle). After riding
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey back in 2010, I had
high hopes for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.
Unfortunately, I ended up disappointed. The ride starts off
with a promising, exciting dash along roller coaster tracks,
but then the vehicles enter what is essentially a large 3D
movie theater (3D glasses are provided for riders). The ride
vehicles then travel from movie theater to movie theater
until the end when another exciting dash on roller coaster
tracks brings them back to the loading platform.

To be fair, my review is clouded by the fact that I get
motion sick on motion-simulation rides, and so I must close
my eyes whenever the movie involves movement. In Harry
Potter and the Escape from Gringotts there was plenty of
onscreen action that did not involve movement of the ride
vehicle, and so I was able to watch most of the movie.
Still, I don't travel to theme parks to watch movies. I want
a REAL experience, like the Indiana Jones rides at
Disneyland in California and Tokyo DisneySea in Japan. My
mom, who does not have any issues with motion sickness and
was thus able to experience the entire Gringotts ride dubbed
it, "Very good, but not as excellent as Harry Potter and the Forbidden
Journey."

Tip: If wait times for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts are long and your party is willing to be
completely split up, you can take advantage of a (usually)
much shorter wait time on the single rider line, however,
you will miss the Gringotts bank interior, the photo, the
preshow, and the lift.

Tip:
Backpacks, purses, and loose items are not allowed on Harry
Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (or Harry Potter and
the Forbidden Journey at Islands of Adventure), however
"fanny packs" (waist packs) were allowed during our visits.
If you bring a backpack, purse, or loose items, you must
store them in one of the complimentary lockers near the
queue. Note that if you leave items in the lockers for
extended periods you will be charged.
The Shops of Diagon Alley

After our ride, we explored the shops of Diagon Alley and
dark, creepy Knockturn Alley. My
favorite was Gringotts Money Exchange, where guests can
exchange U.S. dollars (minimum $10) for Wizarding-World-themed
paper money that can be
used at Universal Orlando Resort. Even though we had no
interest in exchanging money, visiting the shop was a
highlight due to the animatronic goblin on duty who will
attempt to answer any question. In keeping with the theme of
this website (mydreamcametrue.com), I asked him what was on
his bucket list. His response was perfectly in character,
"Working."

I found a few fun surprises inside other shops of Diagon
Alley. There is a talking mirror inside Madam Malkin's Robes
for All Occasions. And, if you listen closely, you can hear
a chirping bird inside the cabinet at Borgin and Burkes in
Knockturn Alley (Harry Potter fans will know why).
Unfortunately, the exterior shop windows of Diagon Alley
weren't quite as inventive as the ones in the Wizarding
World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade.

The Shows of Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley hosts live puppet shows (The Tales of Beedle
the Bard) and singers (Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees)
on its stage area. The times for the shows are not
publicized, but cast members in the area were able to tell
me the day's schedule. During our visit we caught one of the
puppet shows ("The Fountain of Fair Fortune"). There are
a few different puppet shows, and so you might wish to check out
multiple performances. We also walked by during a Celestina
Warbeck and the Banshees performance. Unfortunately, the
acoustics in the area made it difficult to understand the
performers dialogue, and there was very little seating in the
area, and so most people stood by the stage to watch the
shows.

Interactive Wands

A new addition (to both Wizarding Worlds) are the
Interactive Wands ($47.95 each) that allow guests to trigger
effects in some of the shop windows. Areas for "spell
casting" are noted by plaques on the ground and on a map
provided with purchase of an Interactive Wand.

Plaque on the ground indicates a
"spell casting" location. The arrow shows the wand movement
required to trigger the effect.

The wands
looked fun but, for me, they were not worth the price tag.
It was easy enough to see the special effects when they were
triggered by the young (and sometimes older) witches and
wizards who had purchased the special wands. Note that
Universal is careful not to allow the wands to be a source
of disappointment. If, after a few tries, a wand owner fails
to trigger the effect, a cast member promptly presents
themselves to offer coaching. The effects seemed to be a bit
difficult to trigger; even the adults often needed a few
tries or some coaching.

Butterbeer ice cream!

Our next stop was Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour for
something I'd been excited to try: Butterbeer soft-serve
ice cream. On our 2010 visit to the Wizarding World, we enjoyed
Frozen Butterbeer (a caramel-butterscotch flavored Slurpie).
Butterbeer ice cream is a new addition to the Wizarding
World. After one taste of the creamy caramel yumminess that
is Butterbeer ice cream, my mom and I were hooked. During
our three days at Universal Orlando Resort, we spent over
$30 on Butterbeer ice cream between us (easy to do at $4.99
a cup).

Butterbeer
ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour

London Photo Ops

Having temporarily had our fill of Diagon Alley, we made our
way out the brick entrance, back to the movie-set-like
streets of London. A triple-decker purple Knight Bus was
there, along with a charismatic driver and the talking
shrunken head like the one seen in the movies. The driver
was quick to engage us and happily posed for photos as he chatted with the shrunken head. Afterward, we sat at
the nearby fountain and watched the driver interact with
other guests. The driver was excellent at ad-libbing in
character, at one point he asked a woman wearing
stylishly-torn jeans if she had recently met up with a
dragon!

Knight Bus driver photo op

Afterward, I peered
inside the bus and was enchanted to see that the interior
was fully decorated, with beds for the passengers. Park
guests are prevented (by a cage) from entering the bus, but
there is a cool photo op area at the back of the bus.

Knight
Bus photo op

Another great photo location is the townhome at number 12 Grimmauld Place where, if you time it just right, you can
catch Kreacher peering out of the second-story window.

12
Grimmauld Place photo op with Kreacher

We found yet another great photo location at the authentic British
phone booth. And when we dialed MAGIC on the telephone
inside (the phone number is printed on the center of the
dial), we reached the Ministry of Magic! (Not a live
operator, just a recording.)

Riding Hogwarts Express

Finally, we made our way to Kings Cross Station to ride
Hogwarts Express. (Note that guests must have a Park-to-Park
ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express.) The queue area feels
very much like a real London train station. It even sports a
snack stand selling imported British chips and candy bars
along with ordinary theme-park snack items and drinks. The
queue also offers the chance to see fellow park guests walk
through a brick wall, or at least appear to do so, thanks to
a mirror and lighting effect (the Pepper's ghost illusion).
Mom and I took turns taking photos and video of one another
"passing through the wall."

Passing
through a brick wall at Kings Cross Station

At the end of the queue was perhaps one of the coolest
things at the Wizarding World: a real live Hogwarts Express
train ready for boarding.

Mom
posing with Hogwarts Express at Kings Cross Station

Inside the train, each compartment
seats eight, and the cast members seem to try to ensure that
each is fairly full when assigning guests to their
compartments. During the ride, not only is there an
ever-changing view out the train window (courtesy of a movie
screen), "fellow passengers," including characters
from the movies, can be seen through the
compartment's frosted interior windows. The Hogwarts Express
ride isn't physically thrilling, but I felt as if I was
traveling along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione through the
world that J.K. Rowling created. So cool! My only complaint
is that the voice actor who was cast to play Hermione
doesn't sound anything like Emma Watson; she doesn't even
have a British accent.

(Note that the Hogwarts Express train ride is different in
each direction. And if you watch carefully, you might spot
Voldemort outside Malfoy Manor on the trip from Hogsmeade to
Kings Cross.)

The Wizarding World - Hogsmeade

We exited Hogwarts Express just outside Hogsmeade.

Hogsmeade
Station exterior

My heart leapt
as I walked under the Hogsmeade entry archway. I
only wish that Universal hadn't put a smoking section right
outside the entrance to Hogsmeade, sullying what is
otherwise a magical experience.

Hogsmeade
main entrance

Unlike in Diagon Alley, in Hogsmeade I spotted a few
very-subtle Christmas decorations on some of the shops and
carts. I'm not sure why Universal doesn't do more in the way
of holiday decorating in the Wizarding World; they certainly
go all out in Seuss Landing.

Owl Post was one of the few
Wizarding World shops decorated for Christmas

The sky was beginning to darken into night as we headed
toward Hogwarts Castle where we were greeted with a
wonderful surprise, the wait time for Harry Potter and the
Forbidden Journey was just 10 minutes! Mom and I made our
way through the fully-immersive queue, imagining that we
really had arrived at Hogwarts Castle. At the end of the queue, we
boarded our "enchanted bench" and rode what is one of my
favorite theme park rides in the world (despite the fact
that there are periods of the ride that involve motion
simulation, during which I must close my eyes to avoid
motion sickness). (For more
about the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, see my mydreamcametrue.com review of
The Wizarding World - Hogsmeade.)

After an awesome ride, we left Hogwarts castle and
discovered that night had fallen on Hogsmeade. We stopped at
Three Broomsticks for dinner and shared a delicious
half-chicken with corn and seasoned potatoes. It was a
perfect way to end to the first day of our second trip to
the Wizarding World.

The Rest of Our Stay at Universal Orlando Resort

Mom and I spent the next two days returning to both
Wizarding Worlds and venturing into the rest of the two
Universal theme parks.

Universal Studios Florida

Outside of the Wizarding World, my favorite attractions at
Universal Studios Florida were E.T. Adventure (A
non-motion-simulation ride (Yeah!) reminiscent of Disney's
Peter Pan's Flight ride) and Animal Actors on Location (A
live show where animal actors show off their abilities.
Although I really enjoyed this show, it felt like the same
show I saw many, many years ago when I was a kid. I wish
they'd update it.) We also enjoyed a brief behind-the-scenes
experience at Men in Black Alien Attack. (If you'd like
to have your own Men in Black Alien Attack behind-the-scenes
experience, when you get off the ride, ask the cast member
on the unloading platform if the "Immigration Tour" is
available. If so, you will be escorted down to a movie-set like room (seen from
the queue) where you will be allowed to walk around and
examine the set up-close and take photos. Note that there is
no charge for this experience, but it is not available on
busy days.)

Behind-the-scenes experience at
Men in Black Alien Attack

Christmas at Islands of Adventure

At Islands of Adventure, the non-Wizarding-World highlight
for us was Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular, a live musical
show with the excellent songs from Universal's 2000
live-action movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Unfortunately, this show is only offered at Christmas time.
Afterward, we met the Grinch in person at the All The Books
You Can Read shop in Seuss Landing. He was completely
in character and fun to interact with. Unfortunately, he is
only there during the Christmas season.

1. We traveled during low season, when hotel rates (and
airfare) are cheaper.

2. We stayed onsite at Universal's least expensive hotel,
Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Rather than reserve our stay at
Universal's or Loews Hotels' official website, I found lower
rates at
CheapTickets.com after applying a Cheap Tickets promo
code that I found by doing a quick internet search.

3. We purchased our 3-day Universal Park-to-Park tickets in
advance online at
plumbenefits.com. The cost was about $20 per ticket less
that the cost on Universal's official website. (Universal's
Park-to-Park tickets allow guests to visit both Islands of
Adventure and Universal Orlando on the same day, similar to
Disney's Park Hopper tickets. Note that a Park-to-Park
ticket is required in order to ride Hogwarts Express (see
above).) After I purchased our tickets, I received a
confirmation number via email. When I arrived at Universal
Orlando Resort, I was able to quickly and easily print out
our park tickets using the ticket kiosk in the lobby of
Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Note that there are
also such kiosks at the main entrances to the Universal
theme parks.

I saw the same discount theme park ticket prices at
workingadvantage.com. In order to use
Plum
Benefits or
Working Advantage, you must be employed by a company
that offers access to the site. Many large businesses (eg.
hospitals) and unions (eg. SAG-AFTRA) offer access to one or
both of these sites.

4. Unfortunately, unlike the Orlando Disney hotels, which
offer complimentary Disney hotel transportation to and from
Orlando International Airport (via Disney's Magical
Express), the Universal hotels do not offer complimentary
airport transportation. We used the
MEARS shuttle to travel round-trip from Orlando
International Airport to Universal's Cabana Bay Beach
Resort. This was the least expensive option I could find,
but our experience was pleasant. I pre-purchased the
MEARS tickets online and arrived with my email
confirmation page printout. After checking in at the MEARS
self-service kiosk (a live representative was also
available, but we didn't require her assistance), we waited
35 minutes for the shuttle van to pick us up and the ride to
our hotel took 35 minutes (there were two people dropped off
at other hotels before we were dropped off at ours). The
return trip was even better. The shuttle arrived about 5
minutes early and we were the last people picked up, and so
we went directly to the airport. It took about 25 minutes
for the shuttle to get us from our hotel to Orlando
International Airport. The vans were clean and the drivers
were pleasant and professional.

5. We stayed at Universal's least-expensive onsite hotel for
less than the cost of most nearby off-site hotels.
Universal's onsite hotels offer complimentary bus
transportation to and from the Universal theme parks.
Complimentary water taxis to the Universal theme parks are
available at the more expensive resorts (Loews Portofino Bay
Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Lowes Royal Pacific Resort, and
Loews Sapphire Falls Resort). On the days that we visited,
the buses seemed to run about every 10 minutes, and they
operated from 7am to 2am. At off-site hotels, the theme park
shuttle hours are very limited and you might end up having
to take a cab if you miss them.